bbcproject

Two of our BBC School reporters, Eleanor Hall (y7) and Jonathon Edwards (y8) visited BBC radio Leeds this morning and were amazing on the Radio. They were very nervous at first but they really enjoyed it in the end. We will get a recording of the programme in the next few days, but in the meantime, you can hear the whole programme on the i-player at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p015j859

They took part in the “place of the day”, talked about BBC School Report and interviewed Wes Butters, the presenter. They were immaculately behaved and everyone at the BBC were really impressed with them.

Kirklees Light Railway

The Kirklees light railway is in a town called Clayton West.

There are 4 steam engines and 1diesel engine.

They have special events all year round for children and families e.g. a day out with Thomas.

There used to be a colliery at Clayton West and they took the track up and filled it all to create the railway line, which went from Clayton West up to Shelley. This was 4 miles long. The railway line was created for visitors and to promote tourism. It also allows visitors to experience the beautiful scenery and to see the Emley Moor tower.

People can visit the Kirklees light railway in the holiday or at the weekend.

I drive miniature trains on Saturday/Thursday/ maybe Wednesday

This is a good thing for children because they learn about trains like Thomas the tank.

By Reece

International week

International week is one of St. Wilfrid’s most popular and well-known events; it is all about celebrating the past and embracing the future. 

One of the ways that our school does this is by bringing around 200 students from schools in different countries so they can all have a small insight into what happens in a school in England. During this week St. Wilfrid’s have lots of different events and activities taking place which wouldn’t happen on a normal school day.

These are the countries which will be taking part: The Basque Country, Bulgaria, China, Germany, Italy, Macedonia, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.  Many of the pupils from these countries are staying with a family from St. Wilfrid’s and they will be sleeping in the house with these families. However, some of the pupils will be sleeping for the 5 nights at a local hotel.

Joe, a pupil in year 10, who is a host to a student from Macedonia, said “it is an interesting and unforgettable experience”. He also said that he was impressed with how well the international students could speak English.

Some of the activities that will be taking place are: an international family evening (this is to get to know the person you are hosting more); a project that is done in international groups and an international festival of talents, which is one of the highlights of the week and attracts huge audiences every year.  There will also be an international sports day and fete. 

International week has now successfully been running for 13 years and hopefully for many years in the future.

By Eleanor

Pope Benedict XVI’s Resignation

Pope Benedict XVI astonished the Roman Catholic Church on Monday 11^th of January as he announced his intention to resign; he is the first pope to resign in almost 600 years, shocking even his closest friends and critics of his eight year-long reign.

In an address read out in Latin in the Apostolic Palace, the 85-year-old pope announced, “I have decided that due to my advanced age and deteriorating strengths, I will be stepping down as head of the Catholic Church on 28 February.”

                        Once he stands down, Benedict will be taken to Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat near Rome, and will then live in a protected monastery.  In his speech he said he wanted to loyally serve the holy church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

On the 13^th of March 2013 the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church elected their new pope. The new pope is Francis I and he will be the 266^th Roman Catholic pontiff. He is the first non-European to be elected in nearly 1,300 years. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires changed his name to Pope Francis, which may be an indication that his reign as pope will be different.

Jemma, our school Chaplain, said: “Pope Benedict was a great leader of our church, reminding us of the joy and beauty of knowing Christ. I wish him a happy retirement. Our new pope, Pope Francis, has already brought excitement amongst Catholics and I think he is going to be a much loved pope and a great leader.”

By Eleanor and Jonathon

The Rap Poet Donavan Christopher

On the 9^th of November Rap poet Donavan Christopher A.K.A  ‘ Rappaman ’  visited St Wilfrid’s Catholic High School. He performed his work in front of years 7 & 8. His rap poems included messages. Some of which were relevant to Social Justice and anti-racism which he promotes. Others however are just random such as the one about a house made of sweets and his poem about a meal. Donavan Christopher frequently used the word respect and one of his poems is repeats R to the A to the P which spells RAP which he said stands for Respect All People. I interviewed a year 7 student called Eleanor: Me: Did you enjoy the performance? And if so Why?Eleanor: I enjoyed the performance a lot; the poet was very fun, entertaining and included everyone in his poems songs and raps. Me: In our opinion which was the best bit? Eleanor: I liked all the performances, but m6y favourite part was the last song which was called ‘My black Cinderella’

By Jonny

St.Wilfrids welcomes the well renowned author … Alan Durant    

All the way from Brighton, Alan Durant, an author of over 80 books visited St. Wilfrid’s on Friday 7^th December. He also did a presentation to year 7 and 8 about where he lived, grew up and the different books which he has written.

                        Alan is a well-experienced author, writing stories for children of all ages - from toddlers to teenagers.  Alan also writes poetry for children and adults.  Alan’s two passions are reading and football, however, the latest books he has written are called Game Boy Galactic and Poems from the writing shed. Game Boy Galactic was inspired by his eldest son, who loves to go on his Gameboy, and Alan wrote this book about a mythical Gameboy world, dedicated to him. However, his latest book is, Poems from the writing shed. In this book is an entertaining collection of poems: Alan has put in his favourite poems, which he has written, a variety of different subjects, sizes and topics are included in this book to please all children from age 6-12.

   Overall, it was a very enjoyable, fun and interesting experience for everyone. They felt very privileged to meet and talk to a well-known author.

A pupil in year 8, Bethany, said, “Although I have never read any of his books, I enjoyed hearing him speak and listening to extracts of his work.  I also bought one of his books called Bones.”

By Eleanor, year 7  

      HMV to be lost?

HMV, could soon be disappearing due to the loss of money over the Christmas period and they also have been losing money over the last few years. This is because internet shopping has been taking over. People use online shopping sites because you can save money and get better deals while buying.

People now fear that the high streets may begin to look a lot different if shops take the same route as HMV due to people shopping online.

Children and teenagers can’t always buy DVDs online and still use shops, however, many pupils in this school say that they buy their DVDs and CDs in supermarkets now, because it is cheaper and easier.

By Daniel

MOST DISTANT DYING STAR THAT HAS EVER BEEN SEEN!

Astronomers have spotted the most distant supernova (star) ever seen.  A supernova is a dying star which has exploded causing an amazing, spectacular lightshow. Astronomers named this supernova “Mingus". This star is ten billion light-years away. Consequently, it means we are seeing the star as it would have looked ten billion years ago because that is how long it has taken the light to travel to us. Experts say Mingus will help shed light on why the increase in the size of the Universe is speeding up.

By Eleanor

 Tidal Wave Electricity

The government are now considering bringing in tidal wave electricity; studies show that the form of electricity could provide cheaper power for people. Scientists say that the power of the sea could be better than the power of the wind; they say that the sea is a reliable two way renewable energy.

The government are trying out a system in the river Severn which involves the flow of water turning turbines and creating electricity and one other way to trap the electricity is to place water turbines in fast flowing streams or rivers, for example in Scotland and Wales, where there is high ground.

If the system does come into place, it may take years to happen so for now we are just going to have to stick with wind.

By Daniel

We are a plague to the earth

The TV star Sir David Attenborough says we are a “plague to the earth” because of the massive increase to the population to Great Britain. He believes that families should be smaller because the population has increased by 5 billion in the last 85 years.

Having a population so big could take up the space of the farming land we need to grow crops. Also, having such a big population can create a bad environment for the country. This will be for the next generations to come. We are a plague to the earth means that we are causing a disease too big to cure.

By Daniel